


that's not our deal

by mashton



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band), One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Binge Drinking, M/M, Recreational Drug Use
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-05
Updated: 2013-12-20
Packaged: 2017-12-25 16:20:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/955221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mashton/pseuds/mashton
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>the one where Luke’s a model and he’s fooling around with Ashton and he’s kind of dating Harry but he didn’t expect to have feelings for either of them. Especially not at the same time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this is a work in progress so please be patient with me. title comes from the song our deal by best coast. [these songs](http://8tracks.com/theapotts/that-s-not-our-deal) help me write this.

It’s late. Much later than it usually is on nights like this when Luke decides he should probably head home. He studies himself in the mirror and sighs. His eyes are pink and glazed over and he’s having trouble keeping them open. His face looks three shades paler than usual and his lips are red and swollen. Whether it’s from the alcohol or the cigarettes or the girl he kissed a few times earlier, he’s not sure, but he thinks it’s probably a combination of the three.

He exits the bathroom and finds Calum standing at the bar and he leans over to yell in his ear, “I’m gonna head home. You coming?”

Calum shakes his head and nods in the direction of the girl sat next to him and Luke rolls his eyes and claps him on the shoulder before stumbling towards the exit. He pulls out his phone and types out ‘ _Cal’s not coming home. Come over_ ’ and reads it four times before pressing send and heading out the door.

He walks a block or two, maybe ten before he gets a reply from Ashton ‘ _it’s three in the morning, Luke._ ’

‘ _And? I’ll be home in ten. You coming or do I have to take care of myself tonight?_ ’ He knows the thought of Luke getting himself off will be enough for Ashton and he’s rather proud of himself for remembering that while he’s this trashed.

A few minutes pass and Luke trips over his own two feet several times and Ashton says ‘ _Be there soon._ ’

Luke smirks when he sees Ashton sitting on his doorstep when he finally gets home and Ashton stands up and rolls his eyes at him, “Just exactly how much have you had to drink tonight?”

Luke just shrugs and backs Ashton up, placing his hands on the door either side of his head and leans in to kiss him but-

“Is that lipstick?” Ashton asks, running his thumb across the corner of Luke’s mouth.

“Yeah. She was real hot.”

“So why didn’t you bring _her_ home?” Ashton says through clenched teeth.

“She’s not really my _type_ ,” Luke smirks, “I bet she would’ve been wild, though. She had her hands all over me.”

Ashton’s pissed off now and he knows that’s exactly what Luke wanted so really he shouldn’t be surprised. Luke grinds his hips into Ashton’s and he angrily grabs Luke by the back of the neck and kisses him, sucking his bottom lip between his teeth as he pulls back.

“Don’t you think we should take this inside?” Ashton sighs, pushing Luke off of him.

Luke fumbles with the lock and now they’re desperately ripping each other’s clothes off before they even make it to Luke’s room and Ashton makes a mental note to clean those up before Calum gets home.

Now it’s the next morning and Ashton’s gone out to get Luke’s hungover ass some coffee and comes across a rather interesting headline on the cover of some magazine that someone’s left sitting on a table at Starbucks and he hastily grabs it and their coffee before practically running all the stoplights on the way back to Calum and Luke’s place.

"Can you tell me what the _hell_ this is?" Ashton seethes when he finds Luke on the couch in the living room.

Luke doesn't even need to look up from his phone to know exactly what Ashton's talking about, but he plays dumb anyway, "What are you on about, mate?"

Ashton slams the magazine down on the table in front of him and Luke rolls his eyes at the cover.

 _One Direction singer Harry Styles dating Australian model Luke Hemmings_ paired with a picture of the two of them wandering the streets of Los Angeles.

"This is a joke, right?" Ashton spits.

"Not exactly," Luke says, clearly unfazed by Ashton's harsh tone as he looks back down at his phone.

Ashton grabs the phone from Luke's hands and slides it across the floor to the other side of the room. Luke throws his head back and lets out a rather loud sigh before looking at his friend who now has his eyes narrowed at the younger boy.

"We're dating, okay?" Luke says quietly.

" _What?_ " Ashton asks as his jaw drops.

Luke rolls his eyes again and rakes a hand through his hair as he stands up and heads for his room.

"Where are you going?" Ashton yells, hot on Luke's heels.

Luke continues to ignore him and pulls an already rolled joint and a lighter out of his bedside table drawer, placing it between his lips and lighting it. He takes a hit and exhales smoothly before looking at Ashton who’s standing in the doorway with his mouth still hanging open.

Luke laughs quietly, "If you want me to talk about this you're gonna have to give me a minute," he says as he places the joint to his lips again.

Ashton throws his hands in the air before sitting on the foot of Luke's bed. Luke offers the joint to Ashton who declines but Luke's not having it. Ashton might be able to fool their friends but Luke knows he smokes when they're not around. He slides down his bed next to Ashton and takes another hit and holds it before kissing Ashton roughly, forcing his way past lips and teeth so he can blow the smoke into his mouth.

Ashton pushes him back after a minute and coughs, "What the hell'd you do that for?"

Luke shrugs, "If you'd stop pretending you don't smoke you could've done it on your own. And don't act like you don't _love_ kissing me," Luke smirks.

Ashton rolls his eyes and snatches the joint from Luke so he can "do it on his own" and by the time they finish it they're obviously both stoned, sprawled out on the living room floor and Luke starts rambling about some episode of How I Met Your Mother he saw earlier.

Ashton cuts him off, "Stop trying to change the subject. What the fuck is going on?" He asks, rolling onto his side to face Luke.

"If I tell you everything, you're not allowed to get angry or call me an idiot or anything, okay?"

Once Ashton agrees, Luke takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, "Remember how I told you I had a shoot in LA a couple weeks ago?" He pauses and Ashton nods, "It wasn't a shoot. It was a meeting. My publicist came up with some brilliant plan for Harry and I to date so she pitched the idea to Harry and his publicist and for whatever reason, they agreed."

Ashton cocks an eyebrow, "Wait, why are you doing this?"

"Well if you haven't noticed, my career hasn't actually gone anywhere. I got scouted and booked what, two jobs? That was more than a year ago. Working at Starbucks isn't cutting it anymore. I lost my fucking apartment, Ashton. If Calum hadn't offered to let me stay here, I would've had to move back in with my parents. They would probably laugh in my face and make me go back to school. I'm desperate, man. I'd rather do this than get an 'I told you so' from my parents every day for the rest of my life."

There's a long pause before Ashton finally speaks up, "So what's Harry's reason for doing this?"

Luke shrugs, "Dunno, really. I mean, he came out a few months ago and he told me people are skeptical because he hasn't been seen out with anybody, you know? Everyone still assumes that him and Louis are together even though Louis' got a girlfriend. I guess he figures it'll get people to let that go."

Ashton nods, "What exactly do you have to do?"

"They're in LA recording so I just have to fly out there for a few days and be seen out in public with him. Look happy and convincing. Hold his hand, maybe. Shit celebrity couples do these days, I guess," Luke says.

"You don't actually _like_ him though, do you?" Ashton asks quietly.

"No. I mean he's an alright guy, but I don't know anything about him. Why? Are you jealous?" Luke smirks, rolling on top of Ashton so he's straddling his hips.

"N-No," Ashton stutters as Luke smacks a kiss to his jaw.

Ashton may be two years older, but he's always been weak when it comes to Luke. They definitely weren't together, but obviously they've always had _something_ between them. Most of the time it involved Luke smoking an entire joint by himself, because Ashton swore he didn't smoke, or they’d both drink and fool around for a while and then resume their day like not a thing happened.

Ashton has always wanted more. He wants to go on cute, stupid dates with Luke. He wants to kiss Luke and hold his hand in front of their friends. He wants Luke to be his and only his forever. But he would never say that out loud.

So instead he completely succumbs to Luke's touch and places a desperate kiss to his lips.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is really short i'm sorry omg but hopefully the next will be much longer.

"When are you going to see your boyyyyyfriend again?" Calum asks, resting his head on Luke's shoulder.

"Two days," Luke sighs.

Of course Calum and Michael had decided to show up just as things were starting to heat up between Luke and Ashton. It's a good thing Michael drives a loud ass car and they heard him coming down the road because otherwise they would've gotten caught and that would've been traumatizing. They practically broke the door down and came in screaming about the fucking tabloids and demanded that Luke tell them what was going on.  

"So what's all this mean for you and Ash?"

Luke tries not to noticeably tense up and cocks an eyebrow at Calum, "What are you talking about?"

Calum rolls his eyes, "I know you two have something going on. And don't even lie because I nearly walked in on you a few weeks ago. And again today."

All the color completely drains from Luke's face and he checks to make sure no one is paying attention but there's no one around because Ashton's gone home and Michael's probably got his head stuck in the fridge, "How'd you find out?" He asks quietly.

"The other night I got up to go to the bathroom and I heard you. Well, I heard Ashton. He's pretty loud. You oughta tell him to be more quiet. Especially when you know I’m home," Calum smirks and now Luke's red from his ears to his neck, "How long has this been going on?" Calum asks.

Luke shrugs, "Couple of months, maybe. We're not dating or anything. We just blow each other occasionally is all."

Calum looks at him skeptically, "Okay."

"What?" Luke asks, "Our relationship is strictly physical. No strings attached."

He's lying and Luke might not know that yet but Calum does because he knows Luke better than Luke knows himself but now Michael's returned with half a sandwich hanging out of his mouth and sprawls himself out on top of them so they've gotta change the subject.

Now it's Thursday and Luke's shuffling off of a plane with his publicist, Ava, feeling like he's been hit by a truck because he's never been able to sleep on planes for more than a few hours. They claim their bags and hail a cab and Ava's rambling about plans and shit but Luke's not listening because he's half asleep. They pull up at the hotel and Harry's there standing on the curb waiting for them and across the street there's at least two dozen paparazzi.

Ava says, "Be convincing."

Luke rolls his eyes and slides out of the cab and Harry grins at him, wrapping his arms around Luke and kissing the side of his face for good measure.

"Hi," Harry says and he's holding Luke at arms length now.

Luke smiles back at him, "Hey. How are you?"

Harry nods, "Great," he says, helping Luke get the bags from the trunk of the cab.

They head into the hotel with Ava scurrying behind them and take the elevator up to the penthouse. Harry introduces them to the rest of the band and Eleanor and now they're sat on a couch watching Niall and Louis play fifa while Ava argues with someone about how their rooms aren’t ready and Luke's eyes are getting heavy.

Harry leans over and smiles at Luke, "You can sleep for a while if you'd like."

Luke shakes his head, "S'okay, I'm fine."

Harry rolls his eyes and stands up, grabbing Luke's hand and dragging him off into a bedroom.

"My room," Harry says, "You can sleep here until they get your room."

Luke yawns, "Thanks," He says, sitting on the side of the bed.

Harry smiles at him and is about to leave when Luke stops him, "Yeah?" He asks.

"I, uh. I just wanted to thank you. Y'know, for doing this for me. For helping me out," Luke stutters.

Harry grins, "No problem. We're helping each other out. Besides, I don't understand how you haven't booked more jobs. I mean look at you. You're gorgeous," he says and Luke blushes, "But get some sleep, alright? I'm taking you on a _date_ tonight," Harry says and winks at him before leaving the room.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh this isn't as good as I'd hoped it would be but it's 3AM and I'm on my phone and google drive keeps crashing.

Luke sleeps for a few hours and now Ava's dragging him to his hotel room bitching about how it took too long to sort out whatever problem they had with it before and now she's telling him to take a shower and get ready because he's got a date with Harry.

“Are you sure I look alright?” Luke asks Ava for the millionth time after he’s dressed and ready.

Ava rolls her eyes, “Yeah, babe. You’re a total knockout,” She sighs and Luke realizes she’s more like an annoying older sister than a publicist.

There’s a tap on the door and Luke jumps.

“Aww, you’re nervous, aren’t you?!” Ava laughs.

“No,” Luke snaps, rolling his eyes as he opens the door and Harry’s there smiling at him.

“The car’s here,” He says.

Luke nods and grabs his phone and his wallet off of his bed, pulling the door shut behind him and ignoring whatever Ava yelled after him about being convincing. They walk quietly to the elevator and Harry doesn’t break the silence until they’re halfway to the first floor.

“You’re sure you can handle this, right? There’s gonna be lots of paps out there,” Luke nods so Harry continues, “I’m gonna hold your hand, okay?”

Luke nods again and Harry laces their fingers as they walk through the lobby towards the front doors. Harry gives Luke’s hand a squeeze and smiles at him reassuringly as he pushes the door open and they head out into the mob of people being held off by security. Harry's smiling like an idiot the whole time, pulling Luke behind him like a lost puppy, and they climb into the car without a problem.

Luckily the crowd at the restaurant is even smaller than the one at the hotel, so they walk right in and are seated at a table off in the back corner.

"So Luke," Harry says after they order their food.  
  
"So Harry," Luke smiles.

"I think you should tell me a little about yourself so we can make this more convincing."

"Alright. What do you want to know?"

Harry grins, "How old are you?"

"17."

"Any siblings?"

"No."

"What are your parents like?"

Luke sighs, "We don't have the best relationship. I love them and everything but they didn't approve of me dropping out of school to become a model. They kicked me out. I think they feel bad about it now, and they would let me come back if I wanted to, but I wouldn't do that."

Harry nods, "Were they hard on you growing up?"

Luke takes a sip of his drink before continuing, "Oh yeah. Seeing as I'm an only child, all their attention was always on me. I hated it," He chuckles.

Harry nods again and seems to be considering something before he asks, "Luke, are you gay?"

Luke shrugs, "I guess I am, yeah."

"You guess?" Harry laughs.

"I've never had a serious relationship. I hooked up with a lot of people in high school, boys and girls, and never stayed with anyone for more than a couple of weeks, until recently," Luke says, mumbling the last part under his breath.

"Ooo is there someone back home that you're not telling me about?" Harry grins.

Luke rolls his eyes, "Not really."

"Liar."

Luke nearly cries when the waitress brings their food out, thankful to not have to tell Harry about Ashton. He'd rather keep his life back home separate from his career. They eat rather quietly, making small talk until they finish and Harry pays the bill, waving off Luke's offer to pay, stuffs a wad of cash in the folder before they head back out of the restaurant.

This time it's Luke to grab Harry's hand, the larger crowd taking him by surprise, and Harry smirks at him, causing Luke to blush a bright red. They climb into the car that's already waiting for them at the curb and Harry's phone buzzes as they pull away.

"Niall's just texted me, the lads are at some club a few miles from here. Wanna go?" Harry asks.

Luke shrugs, "Sure. I could go for a drink."

"Or ten," Harry grins.

They've been at the club now for over two hours and Luke's just finished downing another drink when he gets a text from Calum, ' _have you fucked the pop star yet, you stud muffin you ;)_ '

Luke snorts and sends back ' _I'm not here to sleep with him, Cal._ '

' _Hey that doesn't mean you shouldn't. I'd screw him if I were into dudes._ '

Luke stifles a laugh and shoves his phone back in his pocket and he notices that Harry's staring at him from the seat next to him.

"What's funny?" Harry smiles.

Luke shakes his head, "My roommate."

Harry nods and turns back to the conversation he was having with Liam and it's then that Luke realizes how incredibly bored he is. He's been drinking and he wants a cigarette and maybe a blowjob but obviously he won't be getting one of those here so he grabs a cigarette out of his pocket and tells Harry he'll be right back before he stumbles towards one of the side exits.

He lights his cigarette and takes a hit and now a group of girls are standing a few feet away from him giggling. One of them takes a step closer and taps him on the shoulder.

"Are you Luke Hemmings? She asks.

He smiles awkwardly and nods at her, "Yeah," he says and now the girl's friends are giggling again.

"And you're Harry's boyfriend?" She asks and he nods again and places his cigarette between his lips before she says, "Can I take a picture with you?"

"Sure," Luke chuckles quietly and the girl squeals a little and takes out her phone to take the picture and now all her friends want one too.

Luke's just finished taking pictures with all of them when Harry comes stumbling out the door and now they're all screaming that they want pictures with him, too, so Luke just leans against the wall and finishes his cigarette and admires how well Harry handles fans.

When Harry’s done and all the girls are happy he turns back to Luke, "I was starting to think you got lost," he grins, grabbing both of Luke's hands and swinging them between the two of them.

Luke giggles and shakes his head, "You ready to leave? I can't drink any more, I'll fall over."

"Yeah, the car's out front, I called a few minutes ago," Harry says, tugging Luke off towards the front of the building.

After they're safely in the car, Harry smiles lazily at Luke, "Well I think our 'first date' went rather well, don't you?"

Luke smiles back at him, "Absolutely. You're a good actor, very convincing."

"Thanks, babe," Harry laughs, "I guess that episode of iCarly really paid off."

Luke erupts into a fit of giggles and after a minute Harry's laughing too and it stays that way the whole ride back to the hotel.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am SO SO sorry this took so damn long. up until tonight i actually had no idea where i was going with this fic, but i've got it all figured out now thanks to a wonderful friend of mine, so hopefully updates will be more frequent. also this is mostly just filler but it'll pick up from here.

Luke rolls over and groans loudly into his pillow. It's only 10 in the morning and he's already been awake for an hour and trying to fall back to sleep obviously isn't working. He figures he ought to get up but he doesn't feel like moving so he's considering just rolling onto the floor but once he does get up he grabs his cigarettes and his phone and drags himself to the balcony off his room. He throws himself down onto a chair and lights his cigarette and sees he's got at least six text messages all from Ava so instead of reading them he figures it'd be easier to just call her.

 

She answers after the first ring, "Get dressed and meet me in the lobby, we've got shit to talk about."

 

He rolls his eyes, "Do I have time to take a shower? I look like death and I smell like a brewery."

 

"You have 15 minutes," She says before hanging up.

 

Luke groans and finishes his cigarette before heading in to take a shower. He gets dressed and throws on a pair of sunglasses to cover his bloodshot eyes and now he's walking off the elevator into the lobby where Ava's standing near the front door tapping her foot impatiently.

 

"Hungry?" She asks and Luke nods so she continues, "We'll talk at breakfast then," She says before heading out the door.

 

They go to some small diner and Luke orders the first thing on the menu and Ava clears her throat.

 

"I'll get right to it," She says.

 

"Am I in trouble?" Luke sighs.

 

"No. I have good news and I have even better news," She smiles.

 

Luke raises his eyebrows at her, "Really?"

 

Ava nods and sips on her coffee, "The good news is, you and your _boyfriend_ are all over the internet," She smirks and Luke blushes.

 

"And what's the even better news?" He asks.

 

"The even better news is, your manager called me this morning and you already have three job offers," She grins.

 

Luke's jaw drops, "Are you serious? Already? From who?"

 

"American Apparel, Urban Outfitters and Burberry."

 

"You're lying," Luke says and his heart is beating so hard he can feel it in his ears.

 

Ava nods, "They sent me over the paperwork, and if you're interested they said to bring you by their offices today to sign some contracts. I've read over them and they all sound like really good deals."

 

Luke buries his face in his hands and lets out a squeal, “I can’t believe this is happening.”

 

Ava laughs, “Well, believe it, babe. As soon as you're done eating we can stop by their offices, if you want."

 

Luke's manager meets them at each of the offices and reads over all the contracts and once she decides they're all legit, Luke signs all three of them. They go over shoot dates and times and, seeing as Luke's only here for the weekend, he's got to be back in LA in two weeks.

 

The next day Harry takes Luke shopping and Harry basically buys out every store they go in. Luke keeps yelling at him because really he doesn't need all this shit and he's not even his real boyfriend but Harry just laughs at him.

 

"Shush. If you're going to be my boyfriend, I'm going to spoil you," Harry grins and reaches up to ruffle Luke's blonde hair.

 

Luke groans as Harry shoves another pile of clothes at him and orders him into the dressing room to try them on. He tries on three outfits that Harry loves and two that he doesn’t and he’s still got at least five more.

 

“So, about our conversation at dinner the other night,” Harry says once Luke goes back in to try on another outfit, “You never told me about this boy you’ve got back home.”

 

Luke sighs, “I already told you, Harry, I don’t have anything going on with anyone back home.”

 

“And I already told you, Luke, that you’re lying,” Harry laughs.

 

“Oh yeah? And how do you know that?” He asks as he exits the dressing room in a pair of light gray skinny jeans and a black button down shirt.

 

Harry nods, “You can wear that when we go out tonight. And I know you’re lying because I just _know_ , okay? So come on. What’s his name?”

 

Luke runs a hand over his face before looking at the floor, "His name's Ashton," He says and Harry grins at him and claps his hands a few times, opens his mouth to say something but Luke cuts him off, "But he is _not_ my boyfriend," Luke says and points a finger at Harry before heading back into the dressing room.

 

"Boo," Harry pouts, "So what is he, then?"

 

Luke sighs, "We just fool around sometimes."

 

"Does it make your friendship awkward?" Harry asks.

 

"Not really. We've been friends for years."

 

"How did it happen? How did you go from just friends to fooling around?"

 

"I don't know. We were drunk and horny," Luke pauses, "He was the first guy I ever did anything with. He kinda helped me figure it all out.”

 

Harry smiles gently at Luke as he exits the dressing room carrying all of the clothes, “So why aren’t you two actually together?”

 

Luke shrugs, “We’ve never really seen each other that way, you know? Like I don’t think I could see myself in an actual relationship with him.”

 

Harry nods at him slowly and he thinks Luke’s lying but decides not to push the subject further because really it’s none of his business what or _who_ his fake boyfriend does in his spare time.

 

“Anyway,” Luke says, “I’m sorry for dumping all of this on you.”

 

“It’s not a problem. I like learning about people,” Harry says, “Now, let’s buy the rest of this shit and then go back to the hotel and get ourselves looking all hot and stuff. We’ve managed to get ourselves on a few different guest lists for some parties, so we’ve got a big night ahead of us,” He grins.

 

Luke grins back at him but already he’s got a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THINGS HAPPEN IN THIS CHAPTER, YOU GUYS. i've never written anything like this before so i'm sorry if it's awful lmfao.

Luke, Harry, Niall and Liam all pile into a car and Niall tries to start a “lads” chant on the way to the third party and, when no one joins in, he slouches down in his seat and pouts.

 

“You guys suck,” He mumbles, crossing his arms over his chest.

 

Zayn and Louis decided to stay in tonight, seeing as Perrie and Eleanor were visiting, and Liam didn't want to come either but Niall dragged him along so he wouldn't have to be the third wheel.

 

The first two parties were rather boring. Harry tugged Luke around and introduced him to all his friends and he stood quietly at Harry's side, sipping on his beer and only speaking when someone asked him a question.

 

They kept their act up at all times, being careful to not let it slip even for a second. Harry would whisper dumb things in Luke's ear to make him smile, Luke would press a chaste kiss to the bow of Harry's lips and someone standing nearby would tell them how _precious_ they are together.

 

Now they're at the third and final party and Harry doesn't know many people there so the two of them can actually drink a little more and not have to worry about anyone important seeing them act like complete fools.

 

Harry hands Luke his sixth or seventh or tenth drink and Luke gasps, "Are you trying to get me drunk, Mr. Styles?" he giggles, tapping Harry on the nose.

 

Harry grins, "I'm trying to get us both drunk, my dear. We deserve it after the night we've had," he slurs because he's just as gone as Luke is.

 

Liam and Niall cut the two of them off after a few more and now they're dragging them back to the car and Harry and Luke can hardly keep their hands off each other.

 

The drive back to the hotel is all a blur but now Luke's back in his room and Harry's on his knees in front of him pulling down his pants.

 

"Are you sure this is okay?" Harry mumbles but he doesn't even give Luke time to answer. He's already got his lips wrapped around the head of his dick so he just snaps his eyes shut and moans in response.

 

There's a voice in the back of his head telling him that this is wrong, that he shouldn't be doing this, and he can't tell if it's his or Ashton's or someone else and honestly at this point he doesn't care because Harry takes him in an inch at a time until he hits the back of his throat.

 

Luke stutters out a "Fuck," fists his hands in Harry's curls, tugging roughly at the strands as Harry bobs up and down and it takes everything he has not to start fucking into his mouth.

 

He looks down at Harry as he pulls off for a second, "Go ahead. I can handle it," He smirks before taking him back in.

 

Luke hesitates though, so Harry rolls his eyes and grabs Luke by his hips, guides them forward and back until Luke gets the idea and sets a rhythm.

 

"Oh god," Luke moans.

 

The sight before him alone is almost enough to throw him over the edge. Harry on his knees with his perfect pink lips wrapped around his dick, his fingers digging into his thighs, his cheeks hollowed out, looking up at Luke through his thick, long eyelashes, it's too much. All it takes is a drawn out hum from Harry and Luke's coming down his throat with a few moans of his name. Harry swallows without a problem, makes sure he gets it all before pulling off of Luke with a wet _pop_ and stands up, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth.

 

Luke's slumped against the wall trying to catch his breath when Harry places his hands on either side of his head, kisses him sweetly, "How was that?" He giggles.

 

Luke kisses Harry again, "Incredible," he sighs against his lips.

 

Harry tugs Luke's bottom lip between his teeth and grins wickedly, "Well, sugar, we're just getting started."

 

X

 

Luke wakes up when he hears a _thud_ and he rolls over to see Harry with his pants undone and shirt tucked under his arm, he must've dropped his shoes.

 

He smiles when he realizes Luke's awake, "Good morning, sleepy head."

 

Luke smiles lazily back at him, "Where are you sneaking off to?"

 

"I have a meeting in 20 minutes and I didn't want to wake you, figured you might still be tired," he smirks, leaning over the bed to kiss Luke gently, "But I'll be back before you leave for the airport, okay?”

 

Luke nods and kisses Harry again.

 

“Last night was fun, yeah?” Harry grins.

 

Luke smiles back at him and hums, sinking back down into his pillows, “You better go before you’re late, I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

 

Harry nods and kisses Luke one more time before heading out the door and Luke rolls over to grab his phone. He’s got a few pointless texts from Calum, one from Michael and one from Ashton. He opens Ashton’s first.

 

_“I miss you.”_

 

As soon as he reads those three words it’s like his body suddenly remembers how much alcohol he consumed the night before and he barely makes it to the bathroom before he’s vomiting. Once his stomach calms down enough he takes a shower and now he’s standing shirtless in front of the bathroom mirror studying himself to make sure there’s no scratches, hickeys, anything he’ll have to explain later.

 

Luke packs all of his things before Ava can even bother yelling at him about it and now they’re headed down to the lobby to be taken to the airport.

 

Harry walks in just as they’re about to leave and smiles, “I thought I might’ve missed you. Our meeting went on longer than it should’ve. Do you want me to ride to the airport with you?”

 

Luke shrugs, “No, that’s alright. We can just cause a scene out front of the hotel,” he winks.

 

Harry helps Luke and Ava get their bags into the trunk of the car and he hugs Luke tightly, “I’ll see you in a few weeks, okay?”

 

Luke nods and pecks Harry on the lips a few times before climbing into the car.

 

“I’m willing to bet money those pictures will be on the internet in a matter of minutes,” Ava laughs as they drive off, “You two are way too good at this.”

 

Luke smiles weakly at Ava and sinks down in his seat more. He’s tired. He feels nauseous. He feels _guilty_. He shouldn’t have let anything happen with Harry, this was supposed to be strictly business. But it’s too late now and what the hell’s going to happen when Ashton finds out?

 

That is, _if_ he finds out at all.

 


	6. Chapter 6

Luke spends practically the entire 14 hour flight home with his eyes glued to the back of the seat in front of him, ignoring everyone and everything. He fell asleep at one point, but only for an hour or so. He’s felt nauseous since they left LA, and he really doesn’t think it’s from a hangover. He feels so guilty about what happened with Harry and he’s trying decide if he should tell Ashton or if he should just pretend it never happened.

 

“Hey,” Ava says once their plane lands, “Are you alright? You’re looking a little pale.”

 

Luke shakes his head as he grabs his things from the overhead compartment, “I’m fine,” he says, his voice barely above a whisper.

 

Ava walks with Luke to the baggage claim where they find Calum, and she makes sure Luke gets his things and is settled and okay before she heads off to hail a cab. Luke and Calum walk through the parking lot to Calum’s car and he’s talking a mile a minute, asking Luke a thousand questions and Luke can barely keep up.

 

“Cal, listen, man. I just got off a 14 hour flight. I barely slept an hour. I’m tired and I can’t comprehend anything you’re saying, so can we have this conversation later?” Luke snaps.

 

Calum understands, isn’t fazed by Luke’s harsh tone, so he shuts his mouth and they drive home in silence. As soon as they walk through the door Luke drops his bags and turns to look at Calum.

 

“Thanks for picking me up,” he says, “Now, I’m going to sleep and I swear if you wake me up I’ll shoot you. Give everyone else the same message.”

 

Calum laughs, “What if the house catches fire?”

 

“Then let me burn down with it,” Luke yells as he heads back to his room.

 

He sleeps through the whole night, wakes up the next day at noon and thinks it's a fucking miracle that maybe he beat his jet lag before he even got it. He goes to get up when he realizes that there’s someone laying next to him and he prays it’s not Ashton before he rolls over and sees Michael staring at him.

 

“Can I help you?” Luke asks, his voice hoarse.

 

"They sent me to make sure you hadn't gone and died on us. I'm like you, I threaten to kill people if they wake me up, so they figured it'd be easiest for me to get you out of bed," Michael laughs.

 

"I'm fine," Luke groans, "But I feel like I've been hit by a truck so I'm gonna take a shower."

 

"We're taking you out tonight."

 

"Whyyyy? I just wanna sit on my ass and play xbox, why are you guys trying to ruin that for me?" Luke whines, burying his face in his pillow.

 

"Since when do you not want to go out and party?" Michael laughs.

 

"Since today. Now get out so I can take my clothes off," Luke says, climbing out of his bed.

 

"Sure you don't want any help with that?" Michael smirks.

 

Luke doesn't respond, just shoves Michael out the door and heads in to take a shower.

 

He spends most of his time in the shower wracking his brain, trying to figure out how he's going to face Ashton when they go out tonight. And if he does decide to tell him what happened with Harry, he definitely can't do it in front of everyone else. He's at a loss at this point, feels like he's been backed into a corner and it's not like he can talk to anyone about it. Except maybe Calum.

 

Calum has been Luke's best friend for as long as he can remember and they've been through hell and back together. While he may not approve of what happened, he would help point him in the right direction.

 

When Luke finishes his shower he finds Calum in the kitchen and starts rummaging through the cabinets to find something to eat.

 

"Oh my god, you're alive!" Calum yells.

 

"Ha ha," Luke says, "Where'd Michael go?"

 

"Home or something. I'm sure he'll be back before we go out though. You want any of this?" Calum asks, gesturing to the pan of eggs he's frying.

 

"No, thanks," Luke shrugs and he waits a minute before continuing, "Hey, Cal? Can I talk to you about something?"

 

"Yeah, let me finish making these real quick. Go sit down, I'll be there in a sec."

 

Luke sits quietly in the living room staring blankly at the wall, doesn't even hear Calum come in and he doesn't hear Calum say his name.

 

"Dude," Calum yells, waving a hand in Luke's face, "What’s with you?"

 

Luke blinks a few times, looks at Calum and takes a deep breath, pulls a hand through his hair, “I need your advice.”

 

“On?” Calum asks as he shoves a bite of his food in his mouth.

 

“Something that happened in LA.”

 

“Did you fuck the popstar?” Calum smirks.

 

Luke’s jaw drops and the color drains completely from his face, he stares at Calum with wide eyes and Calum nearly chokes on his food.

 

“You did, didn’t you?! Man, I was kidding!” Calum yells, stands up and starts pacing, something he does when he’s nervous, “What the hell were you thinking?!"

 

"I don't _know_! We were trashed and he was there and," he breaks off, his voice cracking, "What am I gonna do, Cal?"

 

Calum runs a hand over his face and sighs, "Well I mean obviously it already happened, you can't change that. There's nothing you can do about it now."

 

"I don't know how I'm supposed to face Ashton," Luke whispers.

 

Calum sighs again, "Well, you two aren't in a relationship, you aren't committed to each other. But you should tell him. I don't think you should just continue whatever you have with him like nothing happened."

 

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Luke sighs.

 

"Please," Calum scoffs, "I'm always right," he smirks before sitting back down on the couch and throwing an arm around Luke's neck, pulls him closer, "It'll be okay, Lukey."

 

Luke smiles weakly and rests his head on Calum's shoulder, "Thanks, Cal."

 

It's been nearly two weeks since Luke's been home and he leaves for LA again in less than 48 hours. He's been avoiding Ashton since the day he got back, telling him he's tired or he doesn't feel well whenever Ashton gets too close and Luke's hardly left the apartment.

 

Technically Luke isn't lying, he _is_ sick. His guilt has gotten so bad it's making him physically ill. Calum keeps telling him he's being over dramatic.

 

"How do you know Ashton won't forgive you?" he asked, "You won't know if you don't actually tell him. You can't avoid him forever, Luke."

 

Luke's half asleep on the couch when he hears voices in the kitchen and he's too tired to care who it is but he listens anyway.

 

"What the hell is going on with him? Did something happen?" One of them asks, sounds like Ashton.

 

"He's a mess, man," he thinks is Calum, "But I can't tell you. He's gotta tell you himself."

 

"He looks really thin..."

 

Calum sighs, "He hasn't eaten in days. All he does is sleep and when he is awake I can't get him to eat anything. He's been drinking a lot. I'm gonna run out for a bit so, wake him up. You should try and talk to him. Maybe he'll listen to you."

 

The door opens then closes and Ashton sighs, Luke can hear footsteps. He lets his eyes open and Ashton's right there, sitting on the floor in front of him.

 

"Ashton," Luke rasps.

 

"Shh," Ashton says, smiling weakly and pulling a hand through Luke's hair a few times, "What's going on with you, hmm? Why aren't you eating?" He lets his fingers skim over Luke's face, rubbing his thumbs under his swollen, dark eyes, "You look like you're dying," Ashton laughs but nothing's funny.

 

"I feel like I'm dying," Luke says, his voice cracking over every word.

 

"Can you sit up and eat something, please? Or take a shower? You can't go back to LA like this, Luke."

 

"I'm not hungry," Luke says and his eyes are drooping shut again, "I'm so tired, Ashton."

 

Ashton sighs and stands up, "Come on, Luke. You've gotta get up. Let's get you in the shower, wake you up a little bit and I'll make you some food, okay?"

 

He manages to get Luke sitting up and Luke insists he's fine getting in the shower by himself as he stands and walks slowly down the hallway. He takes his time, trying to put off what he knows he's gotta tell Ashton as soon as he gets out, brushes his teeth before going to his room to get dressed. When he goes back to the living room, Ashton convinces him to eat some toast and drink some tea.

 

"You feel any better now?" Ashton asks.

 

Luke shrugs, "A little bit," and when he glances over at Ashton his heart nearly shatters.

 

Ashton's taking such good care of him and he doesn't deserve it, makes him feel even worse about himself and he figures it's now or never.

 

"Ashton, I slept with Harry," he blurts out.

 

"What?" Ashton asks.

 

"I slept with Harry and I should've told you as soon as I got home but I didn't know how and I'm sorry," He says quickly, burying his face in his hands.

 

It's quiet for a minute before Ashton says, "What are you sorry for? Sleeping with him or not telling me?"

 

"Both."

 

"I don't actually believe you're sorry for sleeping with him," Ashton says, "I mean, we're not dating, Luke, and I know you've slept with other people since we've started fooling around."

 

"No I hav-"

 

"Yes, you have. I'm not an idiot, Luke," Ashton scoffs, "But I mean, maybe I am. I thought that maybe after a while you'd get tired of sleeping around and I'd be enough for you, but I guess I was wrong," he says, standing up and shaking his head.

 

"I'm sorry, Ash," Luke whispers.

  
"You know what, I don't care if you're sorry. I can't do this anymore. I can't wait around hoping that you're gonna call me in the middle of the night, which is the only time you ever want me anymore. I have actual feelings for you, Luke, but clearly all I am to you is an easy lay," Ashton yells before walking out the door, slamming it behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well here's this. If the last sentence is awkward at all, I blame that on Asia because she told me "easy lay" didn't sound weird :)))) Also I'm sorry if this jumped around a lot, I'm trying to get things moving.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i can't even believe it's taken me this long to update holy shit i'm sorry guys. also this is really short but i didn't want to keep y'all waiting any longer. i'll try to update soon because shit's gonna go down. this is mostly just filler.

Luke's never been one for relationships. Ever since he was a child, he's never believed in them. His parents weren't the best role models when it came to love. They argued a lot, tried to hide it around Luke, but he always heard them. They were never affectionate with him, hardly ever showed him they cared. All they seemed to care about was his school work. If he didn’t get the highest marks in his class, they all but disowned him, told him he was worthless, and he better get his grades up or he would never leave the house again. So he would sneak out at night and go to Calum's.

 

Calum's parents have always treated Luke like a second son. They knew what went on in Luke's house but they never said a word, just took care of him when need be. Luke would show up in the middle of the night on the verge of tears and Calum would just scoot over in his bed so Luke could lay with him, he'd throw an arm around Luke's waist and tell him everything would be okay. Luke never wanted to talk about anything and Calum understood that.

 

That's why when Calum hears his door open the night before Luke's going back to LA, he isn't surprised. Ever since Ashton ended things with Luke he's been an absolute mess and Calum wants to help, he really does, but just like when they were kids, Luke still won't let anyone in.

 

"Are you gonna get in here, then, or just stand in my doorway?" Calum laughs quietly.

 

Luke closes the door behind him and crawls into Calum's bed next to him and it's like they're 13 years old again.

 

"I was hoping this wouldn’t happen again, Lukey, you've been doing so good the past few months.”

 

“I know,” Luke rasps.

 

Calum sighs and wipes a few stray tears off of Luke's face, pulls a hand through his blonde locks before throwing an arm around his waist, "Well, come here."

 

Luke wiggles closer to Calum and buries his face in his shoulder, takes a deep shaky breath and chokes back a sob, "I'm sorry, Cal."

 

"It's alright, Luke, just try and go to sleep, yeah?" Calum smiles, rubbing Luke's back gently.

 

Calum wants to feel bad for Luke, wants to be on Luke's side, but at this point he doesn't know if he can. Luke's his best friend and he knows that he would never intentionally hurt Ashton but fucking things up with him was his own fault.

 

Ashton made it pretty obvious he wanted more than sex with Luke, and Luke either didn't realize it or he just ignored it because he was afraid and Calum thinks it was probably the latter. Sooner or later, Luke always ends up pushing away the people that care about him the most. Calum would know, it’s happened to him more than once and he’s always fought his way back. Luke’s got some problems, but no one understands him better than Calum does and Calum knows Luke would be lost without him. He would love nothing more than for Luke to ask him for advice about what he should do with the whole situation, but he knew that Luke telling him about what happened with Harry was all he was gonna get.

 

Calum wakes up the next morning and Luke’s not next to him. He panics, sits upright in bed and prays that Luke hasn’t gone and offed himself.

 

He finds Luke sat on the couch and he grins at Calum when he sees him, “Good morning.”

 

Calum blinks, his mouth hanging open for a minute before he asks, “Are you okay?”

 

Luke shrugs and turns back to whatever he’s watching on TV, “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

 

“Do you not remember coming into my room crying last night?”

 

“No, I remember. But I’m fine, man,” Luke stands up and gives Calum a hug, “Thanks, Cal.”

 

“You’re welcome?” Calum says and he can’t help but think Luke’s putting on an act.

 

“You’re gonna take me to the airport, right? We’ve gotta leave in 20 minutes,” Luke calls as he heads back towards his bedroom.

 

Calum stands in the middle of the living room for a few more minutes before shaking his head, mumbling “What the fuck was that?” as he goes to get dressed.

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M TRASH I KNOW I'M SORRY i've been working a lot lately and on my days off i just don't feel like doing anything but i'm gonna try and wrap this up in the next few chapters.

It's been two weeks and Ashton hasn't left the apartment he shares with Michael at all. Michael has no fucking idea what's going on because no one's bothered to tell him so finally he decides to call Calum. He shows up ten minutes later and Michael tells Calum he's worried about Ashton because he's never seen him like this. He tells him that Ashton hardly ever leaves his room and when he does it's only to use the bathroom and then he disappears again. Calum tells Michael everything that happened and Michael’s kinda pissed that no one told him but also super relieved he didn’t hear them fucking like Calum did so he gets over it pretty quick.

 

Luke isn't doing any better than Ashton is. In fact, he's probably doing a lot worse. After he did his three shoots in LA, he decided not to go home for a while. He's been partying every night, waking up in bed the next morning with a killer hangover and a naked Harry passed out next to him.

 

He groans as he shifts a little, trying not to wake Harry whose head is on his shoulder. He pulls a hand through the mess of Harry's curls and he can't help but think of how similar they are to Ashton's.

 

Harry told Luke he shouldn't care about what Ashton said. They weren't in a relationship and Luke should be free to sleep with whoever he wants, but he still felt awful for hurting Ashton the way he did. After all, before they started fooling around Ashton was one of Luke’s best friends and he doesn’t think they’ll ever be able to get that back.

 

Luke shifts out from under Harry and pulls on a pair of sweatpants, grabs a pack of cigarettes and makes his way out to the balcony. He smokes four and checks his text messages; all from Ava.

 

_“Don’t forget you’ve got a shoot today at two.”_

 

It’s already 1:30 so Luke sends back _“reschedule it.”_ Whatever. They’ve already rescheduled twice this week, what’s one more time? He’s lighting his fifth cigarette when Ava says _“unbelieveable.”_ Luke rolls his eyes and lets his cigarette hang from his lips as he walks back inside and notices that Harry’s sitting up now, can feel his eyes burning into his back as he grabs a bottle of tequila from the fridge.

 

“Isn’t it a little early for that?” Harry asks but Luke’s not listening he’s already back on the balcony unscrewing the cap. Harry sighs as he climbs out of bed, throws on his clothes and trudges outside, wraps his arms around Luke’s waist and kisses his bare shoulder, “Luke.”

 

“What?” Luke asks before raising the bottle to his lips.

 

“Why are you doing this?”

 

“Doing what?”

 

Harry grabs the bottle from Luke’s hand before he has a chance to drink more and takes it back inside, "You can't keep doing  this to yourself, Luke," Harry says and he sounds annoyed now.

 

Luke lets out a frustrated sigh and pinches the bridge if his nose, "I don't know what you think I'm doing, Harry, but-"

 

"You're going to ruin your career," Harry cuts him off, "Don't think I don't know that you've canceled and rescheduled like six different shoots in the past week. All you're doing is partying."

 

"I don't understand why the fuck you care," Luke says and Harry looks like someone just smacked him across the face.

 

"Excuse me?" Harry asks, his voice barely above a whisper.

 

"Incase you've forgotten, this isn't a real relationship. The only reason I'm fucking you is because you're _here_ and it's _convenient_ ," Luke says and he's annunciating every word like he thinks Harry might not get it.

 

Harry goes from looking hurt to enraged in a split second and his eyes darken three shades, he takes a step towards Luke and backs him into the wall, "And incase _you've_ forgotten, _I'm_ the one helping _you_ out, remember? You were _no one_ before I agreed to help you. I could knock you right back down to where you were. I could make sure you never book another job again, if I wanted to."

 

"Are you threatening me, Harry?"

 

Harry lets out a dry laugh and shakes his head, "I'm leaving," he says and grabs his things before stalking towards the door.

 

"Fine," Luke snaps, "I don't need you."

 

Harry laughs again, "Have fun self destructing," he yells before slamming the door behind him.

 

"I don't need him," Luke seethes and grabs the near empty bottle of tequila from the table where Harry sat it. He finishes the rest of it before shattering the bottle against the door and he doesn't realize til after he's in the bathroom picking pieces of glass out of his palm that he's crying uncontrollably. "I don't need him," he cries as he washes the blood down the drain.

  
He slides down the wall til he's in a heap on the floor and he's trying so hard to stop crying but he can't control it, "I don't need anybody."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally i was gonna go more into what's going on with ashton but i think i'll do that next chapter idk i'm winging it tbh.


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